Nightblood

Striped Seal

Meat

Striped seals hunt and travel in pairs.

30

3

"So you are the stray Garen found in the woods. Nightblood trusts that you will not cross the clan that has granted you shelter. To do otherwise will bring this one's claws to your hide... but they will also rise to fight for you, so long as your intentions are true."



Alongside her mate Garen, Nightblood is a founding member and leader of the Vulstalridge Clan. Fierce and combative-- but protective and loving-- she serves as the other half to Garen's softer and milder disposition.

She may not look it at first glance, but Nightblood is also an enthusiastic storyteller. Collecting tales and committing them to memory is a much loved hobby of the matriarch's. She enjoys reciting them to the Vulstalridge hatchlings during bedtime, and she's got the sick narration skills to back it up. Although she does have a strong preference for the more action-packed and bloodier epics, she's... normally pretty good at toning it down for a younger audience (mostly because Garen will frequently ask her to.)



Nightblood met Garen not too long after he'd settled down in the mountains. She was separated from her clan in a snowstorm, and after battling her way through a flock of clouddancers, found herself at the entrance to a startled tundra's den.

Garen didn't know what to make of this bruised and bloodied mirror sizing him up at his doorstep in the middle of the night. Nor did he know how to react to her simply shrugging and finding a spot to sleep in anyway despite the cave very clearly being taken. Honestly, what was he supposed to do? Fight her?? Probably die???

The next morning, however, granted him a little more context. The mirror introduced herself as Nightblood. She was lost and needed to find her clan now that the weather was clear and she was well rested. When Garen questioned her hastiness, she explained that it was imperative she started as soon as possible, as they were your typical band of nomadic mirrors and may not be around for much longer.

She ignored the tundra's worries over her injuries and flew off. However, she found no signs or traces to follow. Whatever clues may have existed the night before must have been wiped away in the unforgiving blizzard. When the search proved pointless and her wounds began to ache, she reluctantly changed plans and hunted down some dinner instead.

Nightblood hadn't expected her skittish host to be relieved over her safe return, but she supposed it was better than dealing with a territorial dragon with little tolerance for company. She accepted his invitation to stay until her injuries healed, and made her peace with what would be her new surroundings for the time being.

The arrangement would prove to be largely unproblematic. With their differing diets, Garen and Nightblood were able to make use of the same land without needing to expand their borders. If anything, her hunting took care of competitors for the tundra's food. In time they even grew accustomed to going out on "hunts" together, with Garen grazing and browsing as his companion caught the nearby prey. Den space wasn't an issue either-- the cave had been perhaps a little too spacey for one dragon to begin with.

The two remained roommates for a while, but as you might have already guessed, they eventually realized that they had grown very comfortable with one another's company. Maybe even kind of liked each other. Later on, actually, sort of, loved each other. And unbeknownst to them, this was how Vulstalridge Clan would be founded.

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